Softballs Swept by Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I. – The Salve Regina University softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader with visiting Bridgewater State University on Thursday at cold and windy Toppa Field.

The Seahawks (6-10) posted an 11-3 mercy rule triumph in five innings in game one and completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory in the nightcap. The Bears, who have dropped 14 straight, fall to 2-16 on the season.

Game One: Salve Regina 11, Bridgewater State 3 (5 Inn.)

Sophomore third baseman Kylie Lanteri (Berlin, Conn.) went 1-for-1 with a double and three walks as she reached safely four times. Lanteri scored two runs and knocked in three to go along with a stolen base. Sophomore first baseman Emily Lane (Tinton Falls, N.J.) also drove in three runs for the Seahawks as she was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly. Freshman right fielder Hailey Basso (Carmel, N.Y.) and sophomore catcher Morganti Bello (Corte Madera, Calif.) notched two hits apiece for the hosts. Basso was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, a run and two RBI, while Bello went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and three runs scored.

Freshman righthander Caroline Peterson (Halifax, Mass.) went the distance in the circle for the Seahawks in game one to pick up her first win of the season. Peterson (1-0) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and six walks with nine strikeouts.

Junior centerfielder Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.) paced the BSU offense in game one with a double, a single and a walk with two RBI in three plate appearances. Jolly opened the scoring with an RBI double in the top of the first inning.

The Seahawks answered with three runs in the home half of the first. Sophomore second baseman Sam Franceschi (East Haven, Conn.) got the visitors on the board with an RBI triple and raced home on a Lane sacrifice fly. Senior shortstop Sophia Strazza (Wilton, Conn.) capped off the inning with an RBI double.

Lanteri worked a bases loaded walk to extend the Salve lead to 4-1 in the top of the second.

An RBI bunt single by Jolly cut the Bears' deficit to 4-2.

Back-to-back BSU errors to open the bottom of the fourth inning led to four unearned runs. Basso and Lanteri each connected for two-run doubles in the frame to push the Seahawk advantage to 8-2.

Senior first baseman Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass.) singled to lead off the top of the fifth inning for the Bears and later score on an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass.).

A two-run single by Lane in the bottom of the fifth extended the Salve lead to 10-3. A walk-off wild pitch accounted for the final score of 11-3.

The Bears registered six hits and six walks in game one but stranded nine runners on base.

Game Two: Salve Regina 4, Bridgewater State 2

Freshman righthander Sophie Gendron (Oxford, Conn.) notched the complete game win in the circle to lead the Seahawks to the 4-2 victory and a sweep of the doubleheader. Gendron (2-5) allowed two runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Once again, the Bears were the first to get on the board. Junior first baseman Ava Novakoski (Auburn, Mass.) led off the top of the second inning with a triple to left field and raced home two batters later on an RBI ground out by freshman third baseman Katie Tobin (Chestnut Hill, Mass.).

Bridgewater carried the 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before the Seahawks rallied. Salve capitalized on a BSU error in the fifth to plate a pair of unearned runs and take a 2-1 lead. Franceschi rapped an RBI double in the frame.

Two more BSU miscues resulted in two more unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Seahawks pulled ahead, 4-1.

Freshman catcher Emily Eastman (Cranston, R.I.) singled to lead off the top of the seventh inning for the Bears. Eastman advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on another wild pitch and crossed the plate on an RBI single by junior right fielder Molly Thibaudeau (Lincoln, R.I.) to cut the deficit to 4-2. The late rally would come up short, however, as Gendron induced back-to-back groundouts to end the game.

BSU junior righthander Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.) pitched well in the setback for the Bears. Klingel (1-8) gave up four unearned runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.

Thibaudeau (2-3, RBI) was the lone multi-hit producer in game two.

The Bears open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play on Sunday afternoon when they entertain the Trailblazers of MCLA. Game one of the doubleheader is slated to get underway at 12:30.